Long-running metal label Hydra Head Records has announced that they will be closing down after nearly 20 years of operation. Label owner and founder Aaron Turner posted a length blog entry explaining his decision:

The decision to pull the plug has not been an easy one, and in some ways is a not a choice at all. The simple fact of the matter is we've been running on empty for a while now and cannot afford to keep our doors open for much longer. Years of imbalance between creative ideals and financial realities, personal problems amongst the label operators, an unwillingness to compromise our aesthetic standards, a tendency towards releasing challenging (i.e. unmarketable) artists, and the steady decline of the music industry in general, are amongst the chief reasons for our inability to continue.

You can read the full statement here. The label will continue to operate in order to finish releasing planned records through December; after which, they will exist in a barebones manner to maintain their back catalog.